While the dream of a “Post-Racial†America remains unfulfilled; the struggle against racism continues; with tools both new and old. This book is a report from the front; combining personal stories and theoretical and theological reflection with examples of the work of dismantling racism and methods for creating the much-needed “safe space†for dialogue on race to occur. Its aim is to demonstrate the ways in which a new conversation on race can be forged. The book addresses issues such as reasons for the failure of past efforts to achieve genuine racial reconciliation; the necessity to honor rage and grief in the process of moving to forgiveness and racial healing; and what whites with privilege and blacks without similar privilege must do to move the work of dismantling racism forward. The authors of this important book engage the question of how dismantling racism in the 21st Century has to be different from the work of the past and offer ways for that journey to progress.
#1751738 in Books 2014-09-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.00 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 0817318488240 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Exhaustive and ExhaustingBy FitzThere could not be any tome written on the rebel yell that is more complete than this work . Every aspect of the yell is examined in minutia . Whether it's literary; pop culture ; sociological ; psychological ; or acoustical it's all in here . ONE OF The author's main pointS is that the yell was not uniform and that each individual soldier had his own particular version of it . This is pretty well-documented in spite of the myth surrounding the rebel yell . In that respect it agrees with what my grandfather had told me; his father was a veteran of the Stonewall Brigade(27th Virginia) had told him. Be aware the author is an academic and in accordance with the obligatory political correctness there are infinite references to racism (less he be branded as that most horrible of creatures the neo-Confederate) . However; ifyou can't get past that you're never going to be able to read any history on the Civil War except books by the Kennedy brothers and Thomas Delorenzo . The author does a thorough job explaining attitudes of Confederate veterans; which were often in conflict with one another about the use of the rebel yell in postwar life . I did feel there was a good deal of redundancy and the book could have been much smaller and yet more unsatisfying for it.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Where the Rebel Yell came from and what it sounded like are debateable. What isn't is that now it's a banal trope.By lyndonbrechtThis is an odd topic but the title is irresistible. Anyone interested in the Civil War has probably heard of it--but what was it? Warren describes it as a yell of many kinds (the pun about Old Yeller occurs..); often used during attack; but also as a kind of cheer on appropriate occasions. Apparently it was higher pitched than the Yankee combat noise; and the Yankees often were actual words in a sort of cheer. Warren discusses its origin and what it sounded like in several chapters. Virtually every Confederate state claimed to be the source; and the often told tale of Stonewall Jackson telling his boys to holler like fiends is part of the debate; too. Among theories are that it mimics Indian yells--Comanche; Cherokee; Chickasaw. Some argue that the call comes from a rural animal husbandry where herders had to communicate with animals--in the antebellum South; large areas were not fenced. Others argue it mimics hunters calling to hounds; and at least one arguments exists that claims a sort of Hispano-African origin. Some also argue that it descends from the Scottish clan yells. There likely will be no answer.There are plenty of accounts by Civil War veterans about it; some from journals and many from memoirs--which are not entirely trustworthy. Several British correspondents mentioned it. Those Brits said the Yankees sounded like British soldiers but that the Confederates were different. Whether it was a scream; a yell; farm boys hollering at Yankees; is not known; likely all the above.The cultural history of the yell gets complicated and is the majority of the book. The yell was a main badge of Southern-ness until the later 1940s (when the Confederate flag--one of them--became a symbol of resistance to federal intervention and to civil rights progress. Perhaps the transition from radio to television as the predominating US media had something to do with it?There's a short film titled "The Rebel's Yell" about 4 minutes; made in the 1930s; available through the Smithsonian; in which some quite ancient Confederate vets gave a really good rendition that may give some idea of the aural quality--I looked it up and listened. We do have some sense of how it sounded despite the views of many researchers that it can't be understood since all the vets are dead. The genesis of that appears largely to be the appearance of the popular historian Shelby Foote on the immensely influential 1990s PBSD series on the war; in which Foote said we cannot know what it sounded like; with 40 million viewers.Warren argues that the yell has descended into banality and can no longer possibly be a focus of Southern identity. We have a Rebel Yell bourbon; a recent Rebel Yell line of clothing; a roller coaster ride; an LP by Billy Idol and more. So; the Yell has become a somewhat overused trope. The book has a few rather interesting and relevant photos--the book could use more.
